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Coping with RoHS -- the case for fast-turn design
2006-06-05
This guest perspective explores the options available to board and device makers that are faced with premature chip obsolescence due to the EU's new Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) guidelines.
The author contends that product manufacturers basically have two alternatives: buy a ton of the EOL (end-of-life) chips, and risk becoming "sitting ducks" knocked off by more agile competitors; or, use the opportunity to redesign and upgrade the impacted product, thereby rising "Phoenix-like" from the ashes of obsolescence. Both options carry risks, writes Lawrence Ricci, Business Development Manager at board-maker Applied Data Systems (ADS). However, the risks of the Phoenix approach can be minimized -- and its advantages can be maximized -- by utilizing fast-turn designs based on "integrated platforms" that combine off-the-shelf single-board computers (SBCs) with industry-standard operating systems such as Windows CE. Read Ricci's complete paper to learn more about how to deal with RoHS-related challenges, here: Related stories:
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